Anyone else truly happy with there EP collection?

[Macavity]

YES - I haven't got any of note at the mo! But no longer fear the damning review!

Even the finders are now "electronic". I do have several Barlows / reducers tho'...

Haven't quite given up on visual though. Re-buy some Hyperions for my MAK150?

Perhaps a 17mm Delos to *try* in my F4 Photo Newt and ongoing ST102 rebuild.

(The perennial "eyepiece conundrum" of the budget FAST scope owner)

[LeeB]

I have a gap at the moment as i did a stupid thing and sold a couple of eyepieces in the mid teen mm. leaving a gap. I am unsure what to get as yet, I am always surprised by some older eyepieces and they end up as keepers,leading to a very mixed bag , for instance I have a 1974 fullerscope ortho 9mm thats superb and just got a 7mm vixen otho from the mid eighties that knocks the socks off my existing decent 9mm if you can live with the narrower view. In fact looking at my eyepiece box, it includes eyepieces from 1912 to present, with othos, plossl, mat, kel, wide field different makes (5-8 element) ,erfle and two of my own making.

[AndyWB]

Is it weird to say 'Yes', even though I have a pretty uninspiring eyepiece case, not littered with green? I kinda agree with Ronin - my cheaper eyepieces work alright, and dropping one wouldn't have me crying into my beer. I know they're not perfect - but they're pretty good.

If money were no object then yes, I'd upgrade - but it always is. Or if I'd a really fast scope, then yes, I'd want something that could handle that. Maybe I'm just not all that demanding, and I don't feel the need for ultra-wide fields of view (he says, not having looked through something really wide...). 

I must confess, I'm still curious to try an ortho or two, though. And if someone had to get rid of a 5mm SLV, well, I'd help them out.

[Sandraj]

For a newbie, I am very happy that I went on advice here and bought the eyepieces I have, I feel I just need a 6(ish) mm and I am done then on the main ones I wanted. Just a shame FLO don't have the Williams SPL 6mm anymore because I don't intend paying the extra £20 that I have seen them for on a couple of other sites. 

What the future holds regarding buying a few more on a good deal second hand will depend on whats about when I have the cash available. But am quite happy at the moment.

[Mike73]

Mike, it'll be great to read your report about Leica in your fast Dobs, not so much info on that front.

I will do this as soon as I've clocked up enough hours with it in my f/4.5.

There was a big thread on CN about the Leica in fast dobs, as you know yourself most people rate it as XW quality maybe a little better in refractors but from what I read its not so good at the low power end in sub f/4 dobs but that was fixed with either a Paracorr or using the VIP barlow. 

For me I decided that as long is its very close to Delos quality in both my scopes then its a keeper and from what I've seen so far its not going anywhere!

[Caldwell14]

Pure quality for 340 quid, should last a life time too!

[Caldwell14]

That's just for the oculars mind!

[Mr Spock]

I need more eyepieces. You can never have too many

[Luke]

Well, I keep thinking I am there, then something changes, and then the eyepieces change!

I thought I was done, and then we got a binoviewer. So a few eyepiece pairs for that.

We're getting a Quark hydrogen alpha 'eyepiece,' which apparently works best with Plossls. So we've added a couple of those.

Now I am doing a fair bit of viewing with a small frac and am finding I don't get quite enough oomph with my most oomphy eyepiece, a 5mm Radian. So I expect it's not complete yet. So a shorter focal length eyepiece (or two??) is on the cards. But this really will be it soon!

I am pretty convinced that most / all of my current eyepieces will be staying, some very nice eyepieces went like T6 Naglers as my other half prefers longer eye relief, but most of our current EP's are more than fine on that count.

[astronymonkey]

Ive kept mine simple and im more or less happy.

my scope is 16inch f4.5 so I wanted an exit pupil below 6mm, good eye relief for my specs and a good field of view to reduce the need to nudge the dob.

so I went for :

delos 6mm

delos 8mm

nag t4 12mm

Nag t4 17mm

nag t4 22mm

wo uwan 28mm (gives a 6.3mm exit pupil)

I do have uhc filter aswell but ive never been that impressed with filters so havent bothered getting any more.

I tried an ethos at sgl and the eye relief was too tight so im pretty happy with what I have with the 8mm delos being one of my favorite eyepieces.

cheers

[Caldwell14]

I need more eyepieces. You can never have too many

Really, I reckon I still have too many , I could lose the 15mm for a start.

[jetstream]

I have a sense of contentment with my eyepieces,not to say I won't add a few more,for specific purposes.

This feels good.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have a sense of contentment with my eyepieces,not to say I won't add a few more,for specific purposes.

This feels good.

I feel more or less like that.

[russ.will]

I'm happy with the spread of EPs I have, but I have noticed over the years that as my eyes age, I drift toward using some EPs over others.

For instance, I'm finding myself using SWAs more than UWAs and as I finally give in and wear my glasses more, that preference may yet be re-arranged by whatever offers better eye relief. Somehow, I realise that I'm currently enjoying killer value with my blend of ES82s and MV SWAs, but that may be overtaken by Delos. Mind you, by then the rate at which ES is occupying market points means this may change, but based on current experience, it's going that way.

Russell

[F15Rules]

I've got mixed feelings over "acquiringnewglass-itis"..

Over the years I've bought and sold lots and lots of eyepieces and this has enabled me to try out loads of different ones. As I've got older I've concluded that actually, the differences in many of them are more cosmetic than optical. I'd say the main difference is in field of view...you can go narrow, like orthos, wide, like Naglers etc and everything inbetween. But, on-axis, in the very centre of the field, the differences are often very small. Yes, they perform differently towards the edge of the field but if you like looking as specific objects, rather than general space views, it's the middle of the fov that really counts.

I do of course accept that many objects like M31, Pleiades etc etc are best suited to wider fov to get the wow factor, but for me the cost of achieving that at £200-£400 for one eyepiece, isn't affordable or worth it.

I've also concluded quite recently that as our weather in the UK is so awful for stargazing, for so much of the time, I'm no longer going to waste precious looking time by constantly vexing over which ep to use, switching them in and out etc..I'm going to concentrate on looking at objects, not eyepieces!

So, I've now slimmed down to a Leica Vario 7.3mm-22m zoom, which is a fabulous ep for my 5" F15 refractor, a couple of old but good quality short fl ortho types for the odd very good night of high power, a nice ed barlow and a Meade SWA 24.5mm for those clusters etc. Oh, and a good quality Stellar Vue Raci finder which takes my Tal 25mm ep with reticule for finding stuff..My ep boxes are almost empty, but my observing heart now feels much more full!

Dave

[YKSE]

I've got mixed feelings over "acquiringnewglass-itis"..

Over the years I've bought and sold lots and lots of eyepieces and this has enabled me to try out loads of different ones. As I've got older I've concluded that actually, the differences in many of them are more cosmetic than optical. I'd say the main difference is in field of view...you can go narrow, like orthos, wide, like Naglers etc and everything inbetween. But, on-axis, in the very centre of the field, the differences are often very small. Yes, they perform differently towards the edge of the field but if you like looking as specific objects, rather than general space views, it's the middle of the fov that really counts.

.....

Dave

A very interesting experience, Dave, Is it possible that you have a number about how much you would have lost in this long process if you had only bought new EPs and sold used?

[Pig]

I am very happy with my collection but I will be adding the 6mm SLV   hopefully I will get one at the Astro show in Leamington next month.

The 2.5mm is in the post  I don't think it is possible to stop spending on this hobby

[Tinker1947]

All my EP's are brought from new and there are 2 more i may go after, just the lack of use at the moment due to the clouds so that has me upgrading my PC's instead, theses are on my hit list.....

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/TeleVue_Nagler_12mm_Eyepiece_2__.html

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/TeleVue_Nagler_17mm_Eyepiece_2__.html

[Moonshane]

it's often cheaper to buy another scope with a shorter focal length than a wide field eyepiece

[Pig]

it's often cheaper to buy another scope with a shorter focal length than a wide field eyepiece

I have found this out recently and couldn't agree more, the stars and planets still look as good in the Equinox as they did in the CPC 9.25 by simply using a higher power eyepiece.

Close ups of stars like Albireo were much easier to split in the CPC and I have still yet to try the Moon  on the Limits of the Equinox so I cant comment as yet. Mind you an eyepiece is in the post so I will soon find out

[F15Rules]

YKSE,

I couldn't put a figure on it but it would be a few thousand over the years...most (not all) of the eyepieces I've ever bought were used, not new..and I've learned that the price paid does NOT necessarily reflect the quality of the eyepiece - in both a positive and negative way!

Dave

[faulksy]

very happy with mine. well untill i change them

[YKSE]

YKSE,

I couldn't put a figure on it but it would be a few thousand over the years...most (not all) of the eyepieces I've ever bought were used, not new..and I've learned that the price paid does NOT necessarily reflect the quality of the eyepiece - in both a positive and negative way!

Dave

Thanks a lot for the estimation, Dave, it is an excellent reminder for everyone who wants to upgrade their EPs step by step.

[nightfisher]

Having already posted on here that i am happy with my set, i like Dave`s idea of having a quality zoom eyepiece, i keep seeing an add for a pentax zoom..............must resist

[Mike73]

Having already posted on here that i am happy with my set, i like Dave`s idea of having a quality zoom eyepiece, i keep seeing an add for a pentax zoom..............must resist

I should imagine a good zoom would work very well with your scopes Jules.....The Pentax has a very good reputation aswell.....When was the last time you treated yourself??